Other Institutional Strengthening

Overview

Implementation of the Stockholm Convention requires various institutional strengthening efforts, which will vary from country to country. For example, some countries are exploring the linkages between the implementation of the Stockholm Convention and the development of a national Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) system as a tool which can address both international requirements as well as emission reporting for substances of national and local relevance. Other tools of interest include the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS). UNITAR is available to assist countries with such institutional strengthening as part of their Stockholm Convention implementation efforts.

Projects: Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

GEF Medium-Sized Project: UNITAR is currently serving as the international executing agency for a 13-country GEF Medium-Sized Project “POPs monitoring, reporting and information dissemination using Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs)”.

The Stockholm Convention requires Parties to exchange information (Article 9), facilitate public information, awareness and education (Article 10), report to the Secretariat (Article 15), and periodically update implementation plans (Article 7). Article 10 explicitly acknowledges the value of PRTRs for these purposes. This project will implement a PRTR in Chile, and will design a PRTR in Cambodia, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Peru, Thailand, and Ukraine. It will also conduct a study in six Central American countries (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) on the feasibility of a PRTR system as a regional reporting system for chemicals management. This project will assess the value of PRTRs as a tool to assist countries to comply with all Convention obligations mentioned above. For more information, please click here.

Togo: With support from the Government of Switzerland, UNITAR assisted Togo to undertake a feasibility study for PRTR development as a NIP-related implementation project.

Assistance

Upon request, and resources permitting, UNITAR, in cooperation with GEF Implementing Agencies and other partners, is available to assist countries in these areas. For further details, please contact UNITAR and see the Country Application Opportunities page.